


a summer breeze and soft rain

by vll8586



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Post TLO, Romance, let them rest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:34:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25810696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vll8586/pseuds/vll8586
Summary: Camp Half-blood has a game of capture the flag after the war, and a few campers try to make things interesting.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Comments: 7
Kudos: 146
Collections: Camp Counselor Stories





	a summer breeze and soft rain

Ever since the campers carried Percy and Annabeth and dumped them in the lake, she wondered how their relationship was going to change. And boy did she hope it was going to change for the better. Annabeth had had enough of tiptoeing around each other, her own angry outbursts, and a general inability to communicate. 

By the end of that night, it seemed like they had at least figured some of that out, and now that some more time has passed, they've been able to cultivate something that feels comfortable, safe, even happy.

For the first time in a long time, she was surprisingly content. 

She couldn’t speak for the rest of the campers, though. It was no secret how much everyone at Camp Half-Blood wanted Percy and Annabeth to get together. But now that they were a couple, there was no drama, no tension, no will-they-won’t-they. 

Annabeth could feel the eyes watching them around camp. Just a day ago Annabeth caught two campers stop in their tracks when Percy walked up to her in the sparring arena. One of them was one of Annabeth’s half siblings named Cory and the other was a daughter of Ares named Adrien. They both had been at camp long enough to see Percy and Annabeth spar, and they were probably eager to watch another round. Annabeth didn’t think anything of it when she just handed her sword and armour to Percy rather than take a swing at him, but the two campers were visibly disappointed.

After that little encounter, she really shouldn’t have been surprised when the two of them decided to start something. 

It was a Thursday night and everyone was sitting around the campfire, when the two campers approached Percy and Annabeth. 

“So capture the flag is tomorrow,” Cory said. 

“I’ve been here long enough to know that,” she replied. 

“We want Percy,” Adrien stated. 

Annabeth just raised her eyebrows. 

“Sure,” Percy said. Annabeth’s head snapped to look at him. “What, Chase? Are you not up for a challenge?”

She and Percy hadn’t been on opposite sides of capture the flag in a long time. Usually, Percy fought with the Athena, Apollo, and Hermes cabins against the Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, Ares, and Hephaestus cabins. 

“Am  _ I  _ up for a challenge?” she asked dramatically. “No, the real question is are you ready to get your butt handed to you?”

Percy abruptly stood up abruptly and the two campers leaned back a little. “You can tell Ares' cabin that I’m in,” he said firmly. When he turned to Annabeth, there was amusement in his eyes. “Get ready.”

She stood up to meet his gaze. “You’re going down, Jackson.” 

They stalked off in opposite directions, but not before Annabeth could notice the smug look on the two campers’ faces. 

The following day, Annabeth made sure to send Percy her most intimidating stares while they suited up with armour before the capture the flag match. The sky was overcast, but a little rain had never stopped a game. There was chatter all around them about how intense this game would be with them against each other. It was common knowledge how fierce they were in battle, and how stubborn Annabeth could be when posed with a challenge. 

She and Percy didn’t say so much as a single word to each other before the two teams went their separate ways to their bases in the forest. There could be no fraternizing with the enemy. 

As soon as Annabeth joined the rest of the Athena, Apollo, and Hermes campers at their base, she found her half-brother Malcolm already dolling out instructions and explaining the plan of attack. She met his eyes then held up her Yankees baseball cap. They’d play’d enough of these games to silently communicate Annabeth’s usual role of spy.

She trusted him and the other head campers to give directions and implement their strategy to the rest of the team, so she didn’t hesitate to put on her cap and sneak off to spy on the other cabins. 

Annabeth knew the forest well and frankly the other cabins weren’t doing too good of a job of hiding. Even though she was invisible, she stayed a safe distance away and only crept close enough to eavesdrop. She heard Percy’s voice first. He was outlining their plan, probably standing in front of a map of the forest. 

She could picture the scene in her head, Percy motioning on a map with a capped riptide, the squareness of his shoulders, and the sureness of his stance. Percy didn’t always exude authority, but when he chose to, he could be an incredible leader. 

As usual, the plan was for Percy to be reinforcement wherever he was needed, and that he would stay back at the homebase for a while. 

Perfect.

She stood behind a tree waiting while the campers started spreading out to protect their flag and hunt down their opponents. Once Percy was alone, Annabeth crept up towards him. She was sure he could hear her coming, with his heightened senses, so she took off her cap. Some other time she would have tried to sneak up on him and give him a scare, but ever since the end of the war, they’d been gentle with each other. 

“That was some good acting,” she started. “They seem to really think that we’re going to go at each other.”

“What are you talking about?” Percy said. His smile gave him away immediately, but he kept digging in. “We’re going to crush you guys.” 

Annabeth walked over to him, not minding the crunching of the leaves and twigs under her feet.

“Oh really?” Annabeth played along. “Your team’s most valuable player seems to be easily distracted.”

“Or maybe it’s my job to distract you.”

She was standing right in front of him, but just far enough away that he would have to really reach if he wanted to touch her. Although, it was clear that neither of them had any intention of actually participating in this game of capture the flag, it was unclear what exactly they were going to do instead. 

Annabeth decided to leave that up to him. 

Suddenly, Percy looked shy. His hand came up to the back of his neck and he stopped looking her in the eye. This happened to them frequently. One moment they were playing and teasing, just like the old days, and the next there was a weight around them. The weight wasn’t necessarily bad or tense, it was a shift in their dynamic. 

“Do you wanna go for a walk?” Percy finally said.

His eyes were gazing intently into hers, so she just gave him a nod. They walked beside each other away from the base and further into the trees. It wasn’t often that they spent time in the forest together. Their usual spots were the lake, the beach, and of course, Percy’s cabin. 

It was a nice change. She liked the way the light filtered through the trees and the sounds of their steps on the ground. The paths between the trees were mostly narrow so she stayed a few steps behind Percy. 

Every once in a while he would look back over his shoulder at her. 

“I’m still here,” she said after the fourth time. Percy would never admit how protective he was of her and how the events of the past few months had left him still on edge. If she were walking in front of him instead, she was sure she would do the same thing. 

His only response was a small smile. Her hand found his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. 

Annabeth didn’t know if he was leaving her to any particular destination or just going on an aimless walk, but she didn’t care. She would’ve followed him anywhere. 

“Percy, I feel like it’s about to start raining.” 

He stopped walking so suddenly Annabeth nearly bumped into his back. 

“Look at that,” he exhaled. 

Annabeth leaned around him to follow his gaze. She anticipated a deer or maybe some mythical creature, but what she saw instead was a tree. Sure, it was a nice tree. It looked sturdy and healthy. She clearly wasn’t seeing what Percy was seeing. 

Percy’s hand reached out to hers then stopped. They were still getting used to being affectionate with each other, and she knew he could easily get a little shy. She intertwined their finger and let him pull her towards the tree. 

After a few more steps, Annabeth saw what had actually caught his eye. It was a small pond with a few little trees growing out of the water and some cattails on the sides for good measure. Tiny raindrops hit the water, causing ripple after ripple on the surface. The first drop that found its way through the leaves made Annabeth flinch when it plopped on the top of her head. 

Percy looked down at her with concern for a second, but Annabeth quickly smiled. “You know how you can make air bubbles underwater?” she asked. 

“You wanna get in the pond?” he grinned. Percy was always down for a swim. 

“No,” she answered, squeezing his hand. “I’m curious about if you can do that when you’re not underwater.”

“Like stop the rain?”

“Mhm.”

He walked around to the other side of the tree and sat with his back against it. Annabeth didn’t hesitate to sit beside him. She had know idea how hard controlling the rain would be, especially because it’s not seawater, so she kept her hands and body to herself, giving him space to concentrate. 

The branches of the tree allowed plenty of water to get through and Annabeth felt herself getting damper by the second. 

“You know, I actually think it’ll be easier if you’re close to me.” The words came out slowly, with a little bit of hesitation. 

“Oh, you want me close to you?” she said, not able to resist teasing him a little. 

“Of course,” he said earnestly. “I always do.”

She scooted closer, so their shoulders and knees were pressed together. He lifted his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, pulling her even closer. With her cheek resting on his shoulder, she could feel him taking a deep breath. 

Even Percy himself, didn’t have a clear idea of the full extent of his powers. As memories of everything Percy had done came to Annabeth’s mind, she let out a dry laugh. He had controlled the ocean, rivers, and so much more, and there she was wondering about a little rain.

She stopped feeling the drops on her head. 

“What’re you laughing about?”

Annabeth didn’t know what to say. Ever since Percy got the curse of Achilles and she had taken a dagger to save him, Percy’s power was a heavy topic. They both knew that the whole situation had changed something between the two of them, even more so than their first kiss after the end of the war.  _ I would die for you _ isn’t the most common sentiment between two teenagers, even if they were dating. 

But Annabeth didn’t want to think about that. She wanted to feel the heat of her boyfriend beside her. She wanted to hear the rain hitting the water of the pond and the leaves above her head. 

She just nuzzled in closer instead of answering his question. 

His hand swept down her arm then moved to the top of her head. The water that had accumulated in her hair and shirt seeped away from her and towards his hand, leaving her dry and comfortable. He showed her the water collected in his hand before he let it run through his fingers and into the earth. 

“I like that I don’t always have to use my powers to fight,” he said quietly. “I actually don’t want to fight for a long time. I like it like this.”

“I like it like this too.” She pulled away just enough to face him. “If it were up to me, we’d never have to fight anything ever again. Except maybe each other, for fun.” 

“You still want to spar with me?”

“I was thinking more like some playful wrestling,” she smiled. “But we can save that for later.”

Instead of sitting back beside him, she climbed between his legs and leaned back against his chest. It was much more comfortable than the bark of the tree, and when Percy wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder, Annabeth felt like she’d found a safe haven in a usually vicious world. 

They stayed like that for a long time, much longer than they should have. But leaving the peace of the forest for the chaos of camp did not seem appealing. In their bubble by the pond, they could sit in silence and enjoy the tranquility of the summer breeze and rain falling around them. They could give each other comfort and press soft kisses to each other’s cheeks and lips. They didn’t have to think about anyone else but the two of them. 

“There you two are!” Clarisse’s voice cut through the quiet. “Were you so busy sucking each other’s faces that you forgot about the game?”

“Huh, how’d you know?” Annabeth said. 

Clarisse appeared before them with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. 

Annabeth was ready to argue a little more, but Percy’s voice cut in before hers. 

“Clarisse, please,” was all he said. 

“Why’d you get everyone all hyped up if you weren't even going to play?” she asked. 

“We just wanted them to have a little fun, you know, some excitement,” he explained. “Okay?”

“Ugh, just don’t stay out here too late. I’m not trying to have to come running to save your butts if something sneaks up on you in the dark.”

“Understood.”

“Don’t you want to know who won?”

“Was it you?” Annabeth asked. 

Clarisse just smiled. “Some of the young Ares kids have some real fire to them.”

“Go have fun celebrating. I think we have things under control here,” Percy laughed. As soon as Clarisse was gone, he sighed. “We really should get back soon. We’re neglecting our camp counselor duties.”

“You’ve earned a break,” Annabeth said gently. 

“So have you,” Percy replied. 

“So what I’m hearing is we don’t have to get back soon.”

“I can’t argue with the daughter of wisdom.”They nestled into each other and got comfortable again. “Can we go back to being on the same team?”

“Of course, until we get bored.”

“Trust me, Annabeth. I think I’ve had enough excitement to last a lifetime.” 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! hope this gave you some nice peaceful summer vibes. you can find me on tumblr at percyheartsannabeth :)
> 
> hugs  
> -torie


End file.
